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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Ticketmaster to pay $10M fine for accessing competitors' computers |
| 2021-01-02 |
| [Washington Examiner] A judge has ordered Ticketmaster to pay a $10 million fine in order to avoid prosecution after it was accused of hacking into a rival's computers. Prosecutors alleged that, from August 2013 to December 2015, the California-based ticket sales and distribution company used stolen passwords to hack into the computer system used by Songkick, a startup that specializes in artist presales. The operation targeted two unknown "signature clients" in favor of the newer competitor. Stephen Mead, a disgruntled former Songkick employee who was subsequently hired as a director of client relations and artist services at Ticketmaster in 2013, provided his new employer with the protected information, allowing his colleagues illicit access to unpublished webpages on Songkick's website. "Awesome — thanks!" emailed Zeeshan Zaidi, a U.S.-Canadian citizen who previously led Ticketmaster's Artist Services division, upon receipt of stolen spreadsheets. Brooklyn prosecutors say the five charges, which include counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, and computer intrusion, amount to serious criminal offenses. "Ticketmaster employees repeatedly — and illegally — accessed a competitor’s computers without authorization using stolen passwords to unlawfully collect business intelligence," said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme. Ticketmaster condemned the guilty parties, announcing it terminated the two employees in October 2017. "Ticketmaster terminated both Zaidi and Mead in 2017, after their conduct came to light," the company said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. "Their actions violated our corporate policies and were inconsistent with our values. We are pleased that this matter is now resolved." The agreement mandates that both sides appear in court in June 2024 to ensure that Ticketmaster has complied with the parameters of the deal. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #2 40,000 Nickleback purchases at 3 in the morning? All under the name Belichick? Sounds legit. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2021-01-02 15:09 |
| #1 Had Songkick been using Dominion systems and SW, none of this unpleasantness would have taken place. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2021-01-02 10:48 |